1. Field of the Invention
Devices, systems, and methods consistent with the invention relate to an improved wire drive design for a wire feeder.
2. Description of the Related Art
During welding, such as metal inert gas (MIG) welding, a welding electrode is typically fed to a welding torch by a wire feeder. The wire feeder usually has two or more rollers which are in frictional contact with the electrode and cause the electrode to be advanced to the welding torch. In a two roller configuration, one roller is fixed positionally while the other is biased towards the electrode to provide the frictional contact with the electrode. As the electrode is delivered to the torch there can be unexpected increases in downstream frictional forces and resistance in the feeding of the wire to the torch. These increases in resistance can cause the electrode to buckle at the rollers and this buckling can overcome the biasing force applied to the rollers, ultimately resulting in the electrode becoming tangled at the rollers. This is often referred to as “birdnesting.” Therefore, it is desirable to provide a wire feeder and roller configuration which inhibits or prevents this from occurring.